Deputy Speaker and hon members, this Act gives effect to two Constitutional Court judgments, which are aimed at extending the opportunity to vote to categories of citizens who were previously excluded from casting their ballots. The two judgments are: The Minister of Home Affairs v National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders, Nicro, and Others, a 2004 judgment; and Richter v Minister of Home Affairs and Others in 2009.
This Bill proposes a special voting dispensation for registered voters who will not be in their voting districts on election day. In terms of this Act, voters will be able to apply and cast a special vote prior the election day due to the usual reason of physical infirmity. It also provides for our security and election officials who will have a similar opportunity. Importantly, any voters who will be outside the voting district on election day will be in a position to apply and cast a special vote at their voting station on the special voting day.
In the 2009 case of Richter, the court held that all citizens who are outside of the Republic must be given an opportunity to vote if they notify the Independent Electoral Commission, IEC, of their intention to vote at a mission where they intend to be on voting day. Therefore, this Bill proposes a dispensation that will allow all South African citizens, regardless of where they reside, to vote. As I indicated, this extends and expands the opportunities for voters to participate in the political processes in South Africa.
In the last national and provincial elections, although approximately 20 000 voters notified the IEC of their intention to vote outside the Republic, just over 9 000 actually availed themselves of this opportunity. The daily movement of South Africans in and out of the country for the period 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2013 was around 2,5 million for that entire period. If you were to divide that, you are looking at around 20 000 people on average per day.
It is evident that a substantial number of South Africans do leave the country for a range of reasons and, certainly, this opportunity that is being created in terms of the legislation will enable these citizens, who are going to be away from their voting districts on election day, to vote. Such persons can now either apply to cast a special vote on the special voting day before they leave South Africa, or apply to cast their vote at a South African mission abroad on voting day. In order to give concrete meaning to the political space created by the Bill, the Electoral Commission is establishing an international segment to the voters' roll. This means that South Africans who live abroad do not need to travel home for the purposes of voter registration. It will now be possible to register as a voter at a mission of the Republic.
This Bill provides that such citizens must present an identity document or card as part of the registration requirements but, in addition, they will also have to produce a South African passport. There are 125 missions of the Republic across the world, and these missions employ around 800 officials who will be responsible for implementing the proposals in this Bill.
In 1999, the National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders secured clarity from the Constitutional Court on the political rights of those who are incarcerated in correctional facilities for sentences that do not have the option of a fine. The IEC has since implemented the decision of the court by facilitating the voting processes for all offenders.
The process of amending the Electoral Act presented an opportunity to align the Act with the order of the Constitutional Court in that matter. It is perhaps opportune, at this moment, to remind the families and friends of those who are in our correctional centres to ensure that these persons, Minister Ndebele, have their identity documents in their possession as the IEC will undertake voter registration in prisons on a date which the commission is yet to announce. I am pleased to announce that our department is in dynamic contact with the Department of Correctional Services to ensure that inmates who qualify for citizenship are indeed issued with their identity documents.
In order to secure the credibility of the elections, it is exceedingly important that the voting process be open and transparent. In this respect, where voting or counting occurs in more than one room, each political party participating in the election will be entitled to two party agents for each room or a separate enclosed area. Win or lose, all participating political parties must be comfortable that the voting process was administered in terms of the law and the Constitution. The increase in the number of party agents is yet another opportunity to open the space for political parties to fully participate in the electoral process.
May I also add that the report of Census 2011 indicated that there were 31,4 million South Africans who are 18 years and above and thus eligible to participate in the electoral process by way of registering as voters and voting when elections are called. The national common voters' roll presently has only 23 million voters registered on it.
This House must surely be motivated to ensure that the registration percentage is increased significantly ahead of the next election. It is our collective and historic duty to ensure that the approximately eight million unregistered South Africans are sufficiently motivated to participate in the electoral process.
May I take this opportunity to thank the chairperson and all the commissioners of the IEC and members of staff for their excellent work and their continued dedication to the task of ensuring that our country is and remains an excellent example of a democracy at work. Thank you so much. [Applause.]